System and method for scratch card implementations on mobile devices

ABSTRACT

A gaming system is disclosed that comprises a gaming server and at least one mobile device in communication with the gaming server. The gaming system allows a user of a mobile device to play a scratcher type lottery game. The mobile device may provide one or more display system parameters to the gaming server, thereby allowing the gaming server to select, create or otherwise generate one or more game image icons to send to the mobile device. When a user selects a game image icon using some appropriate user input device of the mobile device, an animation is displayed that simulates the scratching of the icon to reveal a gaming symbol.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 61/186,143, filed Jun. 11, 2009, the contents of which is herein incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the fields of mobile devices, gaming applications, and in particular applications designed to enhance the user experience of scratch card or other games that simulate existing non-virtual games.

BACKGROUND

Gaming systems have utilized the current technology ever since the invention of dice and monetary tokens, and have continued to progress in step with technology. For example, telephone lottery play has been described by Leaden (U.S. Pat. No. 5,327,485), and with the advent of the Internet, site access and reward points as the monetary system was described by Leason, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,251,017). On mobile devices, a dedicated lottery channel has been described by Grossman, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 7,383,037) to access lottery information direct from the source via the Internet without having to type in a URL (Universal Resource Locator) or launch an application. Apart from lottery services, Donner describes a mobile system for selling event tickets or other goods and services in U.S. Pat. No. 7,415,424. These services, while requiring similar interaction in terms of establishing mobile contact numbers and communications, do not require the level of security inherent in lottery transactions. Feola (U.S. Pat. No. 7,481,432) described scratch type lottery cards with a poker theme, but did not extend the paradigm to the mobile environment. Wagering in general on mobile gaming units, but not specifically cellular telephone devices, has been described by Carter, Sr. (U.S. Pat. No. 7,510,474) but this system was tied to the jurisdiction of local servers tied to these mobile gaming units. Numerous encryption and security models have been disclosed, for example Nguyen, et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 7,515,718) utilizing a software authorization agent to transfer gaming information between server and gaming machine. Tanskanen (U.S. Pat. No. 7,163,459) discloses a scratcher implementation focusing on the data interaction and security components which are common to almost all gaming environments, but fails to disclose the detailed graphical interactions and application framework necessary to provide a similar look, feel, and level of enjoyment that a user requires when playing a scratcher game as opposed to a simple lottery number game. In particular, Tanskanen details the simple replacement of one section of the original lottery ticket with another representation. This is clearly insufficient as the animation or activity that discloses the play token beneath the scratcher token could be significantly larger in active area than just the scratcher token, up to and including the entire viewing area.

SUMMARY OF ONE EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Advantages of One or More Embodiments of the Present Invention

The various embodiments of the present invention may, but do not necessarily, achieve one or more of the following advantages:

the ability to provide an interactive scratcher-type lottery display to a mobile device;

the ability to customize a scratcher-type lottery ticket to the display requirements of a mobile device; and

provide an animated scratcher-type lottery ticket.

These and other advantages may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification, claims, and abstract.

Brief Description of One Embodiment of the Present Invention

In one embodiment of the invention, there is provided an interactive scratch card gaming system for mobile communication devices comprising a gaming server and at least one mobile device that can communicate with the gaming server. The gaming server may be configured to provide interactive scratch card game play information between the mobile communication device and the gaming server and receive user information for registration of the user prior to activation of a scratch card game. The gaming server may receive one or more display system parameters of a display system of the mobile communications device and provide one or more game scratcher icon images to the mobile device that are compatible with the one or more display system parameters. The game scratcher icon images may include a simulation of scratching away a cover layer of the game scratcher icon images to reveal a game prize image to the user. The gaming server may also transmit a scratch card game result to the display system of the mobile communication device. The mobile device may comprise a display system comprising a display screen. The display system may receive and display scratch card game information from the gaming server. A data delivery system may provide one or more display system parameters to the gaming server. A user input interface may allow a user to activate and play the scratch card game, and to allow transfer of personal user information for registration with the gaming system prior to activation of the scratch card game.

In one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method for providing interactive scratch card gaming to a plurality of mobile communication devices. A plurality of mobile communication devices may be initially associated with a single user of a plurality of users. In conducting a scratch card game via an interactive scratch card gaming system in communication with the plurality of mobile communication devices, a user input may allow an individual user to affect at least a part of play of the scratch card game. Graphic display content compatible with each of the mobile communication devices may allow the user to view progress of the game.

In one embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method for playing an interactive scratch card game. In the method, an interactive scratch card gaming system is provided. Users may be associated with mobile devices and registered with the gaming system. Display system information from at least one of the mobile communication devices may be transmitted to the gaming system, thereby allowing the gaming system to select and transmit graphic content compatible with display system requirements of the mobile communication devices from the interactive scratch card gaming system to the mobile communication device. The graphic content may comprise a plurality of game scratcher icon images. At least one icon image may comprise a cover layer and a game prize image layer. A user may select one or more of the game scratcher icon images via a user input interface of the at least one mobile communication device. Upon selection of a game scratcher icon image by the user, the gaming system may transmit an animation that simulates scratching away the cover layer of the game scratcher icon image to reveal the game prize image to the user. The gaming system may also transmit a game result to the mobile device.

In one embodiment of the invention, there is provided an application executable on a mobile communications device, the application being configured to transmit one or more display system parameters of a display system of the mobile communications device to a gaming server, receive one or more game scratcher icon images from the gaming server in accordance with the display system parameters to the display system of the mobile communication device, and display the one or more game scratcher icon images on the display system.

The above description sets forth, rather broadly, a summary of one embodiment of the present invention so that the detailed description that follows may be better understood and contributions of the present invention to the art may be better appreciated. Some of the embodiments of the present invention may not include all of the features or characteristics listed in the above summary. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described below and will form the subject matter of claims. In this respect, before explaining at least one preferred embodiment of the invention in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited in its application to the details of the construction and to the arrangement of the components set forth in the following description or as illustrated in the drawings. The invention is capable of other embodiments and of being practiced and carried out in various ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology and terminology employed herein are for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows an exemplar mobile device displaying a scratcher type lotto game;

FIG. 2 depicts an animation that segues from an original image to an image with the underlying scratcher win/loss token displayed;

FIG. 3 shows a data flowchart of the user and server gaming interaction; and

FIG. 4 shows the view layering utilized to provide the requisite animation.

DESCRIPTION OF CERTAIN EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

As will be apparent by detailed examples provided below, an advantage of the invention includes that by learning the display requirements of a display system of a particular mobile device, a gaming server can deploy the optimal graphical assets for that device. This invention also details the ability to deploy significant graphical resources to the unveiling of the play token beneath the scratcher token, thus making the removal process both entertaining and fulfilling to the user, while still utilizing a simplistic graphical approach that minimizes processor overhead and data transmission.

In order to provide the highest degree of graphical rendering, the display system may be capable of delivering graphical renditions of the game content that is optimized for the screen size of the individual user's mobile device. To provide the most realistic game play, the delivery application may also be capable of providing audio, animation, and potentially even video delivery, again based on the particular capabilities of the user's device. The game play begins with the user launching the scratcher application on their cellular device. In order to validate the user, pre-registration via Internet browser (on cellular or computer based web site) establishes account, cell phone information, age and any other information required to access gaming services. In establishing the connection between the application and the server, the application transmits information to the server pertaining to the screen size and capabilities of the cellular device. This information is used by the server to select the proper content or combination of media to deliver to the device to provide the highest quality experience.

The initial display is of the scratch card, which may be displayed in its entirety if the screen resolution is high enough, or it may be a reduced image which allows the user to zoom in to see portion of the card at higher resolutions.

Cellular devices also have a wide variety of user input capabilities, including but not limited to touch screens, trackballs, glide strips, sensor pads, and keys. It would not be unusual for one device to have more than one of these input capabilities simultaneously. This input capability may be determined by the application, which is used to allow the user to activate the scratcher by any means available.

The application may also download or be configured with information about rules of play and the geometry of the game play. In general, information regarding the winning hand or payout under the scratcher tokens for security purposes is retained in the gaming server. The geometry information allows the application to determine that the user has selected the correct number of scratcher tokens from the field, not too few or too many. When the user activates one of the scratcher tokens, an animation is provided of the token being scratched away. This animation could be one of a number of similar but yet slightly different animations from a random selection library table. It could also contain audio, or it could be an actual video segment of the removal of real scratcher material. The cellular device could even provide tactile feedback in the form of vibration if the device were so equipped.

While the animation or video is playing, the application transmits the current gaming information to the centralized server, and receives back the image data that will be revealed as the scratcher token is removed. The application performs a pixel by pixel programmed swap between the original scratcher token image and the underlying data image as the scratcher animation progresses. This is done by having the animation transition from the scratcher token to a known pixel coloration such as blue, while simultaneously replacing all blue pixels with the underlying image. This two step simultaneous pixel process can be performed within the screen refresh time period so that the blue pixels do not appear. Performing the two step pixel process within the screen refresh period provides a high quality graphical representation without significant overhead of the cellular device processor and with minimal data transmission to and from the mobile device.

Other animation sequences such as spinning coins, morphing of the scratch token, or even animating the token itself so it appears to move off the page can employ great creativity and diversity to the design whilst still employing the same methodology. In these instances, larger areas of the screen might be involved in complex animations, up to and including the entire screen. The layered approach described herein allows the area defined by the scratcher token to be removed, while simultaneously playing the animation potentially across the entire screen. In this case only the scratcher token area defined by the player token area is actually replaced, but the animation may temporarily cover any portion of the initial image.

This process is repeated until the proper number of scratch tokens has been selected, whereupon the gaming server can determine if a win or loss has occurred and the resultant data securely transmitted to the application. The application itself never actually considers or understands the tokens or their value, only the central gaming server tracks what is being played and the result. At the end of play other animations may be activated congratulating winners, consoling losers, showing the remaining scratch tokens (often viewed by losers just to check), etc. leading up to the penultimate “Play Again?” offering.

Turning now descriptively to the drawings, in which similar reference characters denote similar elements throughout several views, the attached figures illustrate a method for scratch card implementations on mobile devices. As shown in FIG. 1, a mobile device 10 is configured with an application that, when executed on the mobile device 10, displays a simulacrum of a lotto scratch card 20 on a display system of the mobile device 10. In other preferred embodiments the application could display Keno numbers, lottery pick numbers, a user feedback form, or any other device or game in which user interaction is required to determine the final result.

In FIG. 2, the scratch gaming token area is shown as a 3×3 array of tokens 30, though other token areas and arrangements will be apparent to the person skilled in the art. The user may utilize any input capability of the mobile device to select one of these tokens. The user may, for example but not limited to, use the touch screen interface, a trackball, a cursor, a slide gesture, or numeric keypad.

Once the user has selected one of the gaming positions, this selection is transmitted to the gaming server and the appropriate animation layers are returned for display. In this example, the game token is overlaid by a “WIN” token 50, and the original gaming icon appears to animate off the screen, as shown by arrow 40.

In FIG. 3, a flowchart depicting this process in greater detail is given. The mobile device 60 launches the application by any appropriate means. The application may have been pre-loaded on the device, or it may be downloaded to the device. In one preferred embodiment the user may have pre-registered at an Internet web site, establishing an account, providing age information if required, and providing a mobile number to which the application would download. In other preferred embodiments the user could download the application via an application sales portal, in response to an email or SMS message, and register via a web browser on the mobile device or the application itself.

The gaming server 70 may be a standalone server in the case of localized games or services, or it could linked to a secure lottery system server for larger government structured games. Once the application is launched, the first requirement is that the application transmit a record containing parameters of the device's capabilities 80 to the server 70. This record might include parameters such as screen resolution, device input mechanisms, color space, animation and rendering capabilities, sound capabilities, vibration capabilities, video playback capabilities, and color space. This information allows the server to select or create the optimal collection of media and graphics to transmit back to the device.

Once the initial or background scratch card has been displayed, the user selects one of the gaming tokens 100, e.g. using any one of the player input devices described previously. This selection is transmitted back to the server, which in turn could transmit to another lottery server. The mobile gaming application does not have or store knowledge of the winning tokens, it is generally treated only as a display application for data provided by the gaming server system. Once the selection has been transmitted to the server, this information is utilized along with the capabilities information of the device to select one of any number of potential responses, and provides one or more layers of animation 110 back to the device. The animation layers may consist of one or more images, full images, or partial images, compressed or uncompressed.

Upon receipt, the application utilizes the available resources on the mobile device to display the animation 120, such that at the end of the sequence the underlying win/loss token or other game result is displayed. This process continues until all of the required actions or selections 130 have been provided by the user. When the game is completed, the gaming server determines 140 whether a win, loss, or other game result has occurred, and selects the appropriate final animation for display 150. The gaming server may also debit or credit or otherwise update the account information of the user 160. In an alternative embodiment, for example where the scratch ticket requires all available symbols to be scratched, the game result of the ticket may have been pre-determined at the gaming server.

Upon completion of the game and final animation or display, the application may allow the user to continue to play 170, request further information, allow the user to purchase additional credits, etc.

To select or create the optimal collection of media and graphics to transmit to the mobile device, an application on a mobile device or other computing device requests data from an external server via Internet or other network connection. As part of this request, the screen display parameters are sent and optionally location information from the device may be sent. The server utilizes the location and display information to select pre-computed renderings or animations for display. It may also render new images or compositions of images and animations on the fly. In this case a template may be created that contains instructional information which can be used by the software to generate appropriate animations from a collection of stored images. This template could, for example but not limited to, specify a starting and ending bitmap and different animation flight paths for distinct locations and screen sizes. With this information the server could then generate the appropriate animation. If location data was transmitted, location specific images, animations, or content could also be rendered into the display. The final image in the format required by the device is then transmitted and displayed.

In addition to computing the animations, images, or other media to be sent to the device, the normal server page may be modified such that it contains a single tag for downloading all other information required by the page. The application uses this tag to request Hierarchical Reference and Last Modified lists. The server accesses the requested lists and then transmits them to the device completing the first connection and transaction. The application then uses the information in these lists to check permanent and cache storage to determine which, if any, of the objects in the Hierarchical Reference list already exist in memory and if it does, is it the same date as or newer than the Last Modified list indicates. If the object is not on the device, or the object is older than the Last Modified list indicates, the object is marked for downloading. Once all of the objects have been checked, a second connection is opened to the server and all of the data needed is requested in a single access over the second connection. The server then checks the returned request and transmits only the objects requested completing the second connection and transmission. The application then has all of the data it requires to render the page. Further details for providing the content to the mobile device are provided in the Applicant's co-pending patent applications Attorney Docket Nos. 561.9289 and 561.9290, the entire contents of which are herein incorporated by reference.

As an example, if the original page had nine elements consisting of style pages, scratcher animations, PNG image files, and XHTML tags, nine connections would need to be opened and nine downloads executed. In this methodology, regardless of the size or complexity of the page being displayed, the required data is downloaded over just two connections.

Turning to FIG. 4, a depiction of the animation layering is presented. The lowest level of the display, furthest from the user's viewpoint 180, is the background layer 210. This layer is essentially static, and is usually the first display seen by the player. When an animation layering schema is transmitted to the device, it may consist of one or more layers, the relative priority of the layer, and a location. In this preferred embodiment a coin representation of the win/loss icon 200 will be overlaid onto the background. It will remain in place after the animation runs. An animation layer 190 may show full screen fireworks or similar effects and/or an animation of the original scratch token flying off the screen. As the animation progresses frame by frame, the original background scratcher pixels are replaced (as seen by the user) by the underlying token layer pixels. There are a number of processes by which this may be accomplished, such as but not limited to, multidimensional rendering, color pixel replacement, and masking. Each layer is not limited to a particular location or size on the screen, but can be anything from one pixel to the entire displayable area.

In one embodiment, the mobile device could be a dedicated mobile terminal that may or may not have additional voice or telecommunications capability.

In one embodiment, the game could be Keno, or lottery number pick, or any other game which requires user interaction to determine win/loss.

In one embodiment, the application could be requesting feedback, or user survey answers, or other information gathering which requires user interaction to complete.

In one embodiment, the game could be completely self-contained within the application, not requiring an external server to provide results.

In one embodiment, the gaming server may be responsible only for selecting and providing the optimal media set for the device, with all play information processed and provided by another server system.

In one embodiment, geolocation information provided by the mobile device or account or both could allow the user to select from games available in the local jurisdiction or some other locale. This information could be, for example but not limited to, area code and/or GPS coordinates.

In one embodiment the mobile application may be used to purchase and transmit permissions information to another mobile number or account, essentially gifting the scratcher play to another party

In one embodiment, a number of accounts or mobile numbers could be interlinked, such that the accounts pool resources, collectively play any number of games and share winnings.

In one embodiment the scratcher game could be used in a localized environment such as a store or mall, and a coupon displayed on the mobile device at winning redeemable directly at the store or stored for display at a later time, or in another store of the same chain.

Although the description above contains many specifications, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention but as merely providing illustrations of some of the embodiments of this invention. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents rather than by the examples given. 

1. An interactive scratch card gaming system for mobile communication devices comprising: (A) a gaming server configured to: (a) provide interactive scratch card game play information between a mobile communication device and the gaming server; (b) receive personal user information for registration of the user prior to activation of a scratch card game; (c) receive one or more display system parameters of a display system of the mobile communications device; (d) select one or more game scratcher icon images that are compatible with the one or more display system parameters; (e) transmit selected one or more game scratcher icon images from the gaming server to the mobile communication device; the transmission comprising a simulation of scratching away a cover layer of the game scratcher icon images to reveal a game prize image to the user; (f) determine a win or lose scratch card game result; and (g) transmit the win or lose scratch card game result to the display system of the mobile communication device; and (B) at least one mobile communication device comprising: and (a) a display system comprising a display screen, the display system configured to receive and display scratch card game information from the gaming server; (b) a data delivery system configured to provide one or more parameters of the display system of the mobile communication device to the gaming server; and (c) a user input interface configured to allow the user to activate and play the scratch card game.
 2. The gaming system of claim 1 wherein the game scratcher icon images comprise a cover layer and a game prize image layer.
 3. The gaming system of claim 2 wherein the layered animation capability of the gaming system comprises a pixel replacement process wherein pixels in the cover layer of the game scratcher icon image are replaced with pixels of the game prize image hidden below the cover layer.
 4. The gaming system of claim 3 wherein the layered animation capability further comprises simultaneous pixel replacement within a refresh time period of the display screen of the mobile communication device.
 5. The gaming system of claim 3 wherein the at least one mobile communication device is configured to transmits the current gaming information to the gaming server during the pixel replacement process and receive back image data of the game prize image that will be revealed as the scratcher token is removed.
 6. The gaming system of claim 1 wherein the mobile communication device is a personal cellular telephone of the user.
 7. The gaming system of claim 1 wherein the scratch card game is selected from one or more of lottery, Keno and poker type games.
 8. The gaming system of claim 1 wherein the gaming server is configured to select a game scratcher icon image and render the selected game scratcher icon image so that it can be correctly displayed on the display system of the mobile communications device.
 9. The gaming system of claim 1 wherein the display system is configured to zoom in on at least one game scratcher icon image.
 10. A method for providing interactive scratch card gaming to a plurality of mobile communication devices, comprising: (A) providing a plurality of mobile communication devices and associating each mobile communication device with a single user of a plurality of users; (B) conducting a scratch card game via an interactive scratch card gaming system in communication with the plurality of mobile communication devices; (C) allowing for individual user input from the plurality of users, the input configured to allow an individual user to affect at least a part of play of the scratch card game; and (D) providing graphic display content compatible with each of the mobile communication devices that enables an individual user to view progress of the game.
 11. A method for playing an interactive scratch card game comprising, not all necessarily in order: (A) providing an interactive scratch card gaming system in communication with a plurality of mobile communication devices and associating each mobile communication device with a single user of a plurality of users; (B) transmitting personal user information from at least one of the plurality of mobile communication devices to the interactive scratch card gaming system and registering the users for playing a scratch card game prior to allowing the users to activate and play the scratch card game; (C) transmitting display system information from at least one of the plurality of mobile communication devices to the interactive scratch card gaming system; (D) selecting and transmitting graphic content compatible with display system requirements of the mobile communication devices from the interactive scratch card gaming system to the at least one mobile communication device, wherein the graphic content comprises a plurality of game scratcher icon images, at least one icon image comprising a cover layer and a game prize image layer; (E) allowing the user to select one or more of the game scratcher icon images via a user input interface of the at least one mobile communication device; (F) upon selection of the game scratcher icon image by the user, transmitting from the interactive scratch card gaming system to the at least one mobile communication device an animation that simulates scratching away the cover layer of the game scratcher icon image to reveal the game prize image to the user; and (G) transmitting a win or lose scratch game result determined by the interactive scratch card gaming system to the display system of the at least one mobile communication device.
 12. The method of claim 11 further comprising animating the simulation of the scratching away of the cover layer of the game scratcher icon by replacing pixels in the cover layer pixel by pixel with pixels of the game prize image hidden below the cover layer.
 13. The method of claim 12 wherein animating the simulation of the scratching of the cover layer further comprises replacing pixels simultaneously within a refresh time period of the display system of the at least one mobile communication device.
 14. The method of claim 11 further comprising repeating steps (E) and (F) up to a maximum number of times determined by the interactive scratch card gaming system, prior to conducting step (G).
 15. A gaming server configured to: (A) provide interactive scratch card game play information between a mobile communication device and the gaming server; (B) receive personal user information for registration of the user prior to activation of a scratch card game; (C) receive one or more display system parameters of a display system of the mobile communications device; (D) select one or more game scratcher icon images that are compatible with the one or more display system parameters; (E) transmit selected one or more game scratcher icon images from the gaming server to the mobile communication device; the transmission comprising a simulation of scratching away a cover layer of the game scratcher icon images to reveal a game prize image to the user; (F) determine a win or lose scratch card game result; and (G) transmit the win or lose scratch card game result to the display system of the mobile communication device.
 16. An application executable on a mobile communications device, the application being configured to: (A) transmit one or more display system parameters of a display system of the mobile communications device to a gaming server; (B) receive one or more game scratcher icon images from the gaming server in accordance with the display system parameters to the display system of the mobile communication device; and (C) display the one or more game scratcher icon images on the display system. 